He stood onstage in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday night, his arms stretched out toward the crowd, beckoning fans to his corner of the pop music universe.

“Children of South by Southwest,” cried out the bald-headed, rail-thin vocalist. “Come to me!”

And come they did. They came from all corners of the globe to Austin, Texas, to partake in what’s become one of the music industry’s biggest weeks “” the South by Southwest music festival (SXSW). They had come for the chance to see hundreds of baby buzz bands, eat piles of barbecue, and network with everybody who’s anybody in the biz. And many of us were drawn, primarily, to find out if R.E.M. has a chance to again become one of the top bands in the world.

There’s probably no one who has more riding on this year’s SXSW than R.E.M. After four straight commercially disappointing albums “” 1996’s “New Adventures in Hi-Fi,” 1998’s “Up,” 2001’s “Reveal” and 2004’s “Around the Sun” “” R.E.M. finds itself in the peculiar place of needing a major hit to reaffirm its place in the rock hierarchy. A knockout performance at SXSW could have greatly enhanced the already significant buzz surrounding R.E.M.’s forthcoming album “Accelerate,” which is being heralded as the band’s return to a harder-edged alt-rock sound.

Ironically, SXSW finds itself in a similar situation. SXSW’s greatest selling point is that it’s known as an event that can create or at least significantly boost a band’s career. Yet as SXSW has diversified way beyond music over the years, and as other festivals such as Southern California’s Coachella have become increasingly important, it’s fair to ask whether that original reputation is still valid. In that sense, the next few months for R.E.M. will also provide a very interesting test case for the power of SXSW.

R.E.M. certainly did its part during its 100-minute late-night set Wednesday at Stubb’s. The band, which now consists of Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills, plus additional side musicians for live performances, did a terrific job selling “Accelerate” in concert.

The group’s 23-song set included 10 of the 11 tracks from the new album. Most important, these new cuts sounded as strong “” in some cases, stronger “” than the fan favorites played on this night.

One of the major treats was the chance to see R.E.M. at Stubb’s, a barbecue joint that doubles as a concert venue. It’s a no-frills, open-air spot that holds some 2,200 people. It has a dirt floor and cool view of downtown Austin. Folks enjoy their music at Stubb’s while drinking long-neck Lone Stars and munching on chopped beef sandwiches slathered in barbecue sauce. It’s a venue every big music fan should experience at least once “” and it couldn’t be much more different than the Greek Theatre in UC Berkeley, where R.E.M. will perform on May 31. (Tickets for that concert have yet to go on sale.)

Stipe and crew sounded confident, assured and, strange as it might sound, younger than they have in years, as they opened with a rocking pair from the new album, “Living Well Is the Best Revenge” and “Man-Sized Wreath.” Those songs perfectly fit with the next offering, “Second Guessing,” a key track from the band’s sophomore outing, 1984’s “Reckoning.” Fourteen years and 11 studio albums are what separate “Reckoning” from “Accelerate,” yet those three songs sounded as if they could have been written during the same burst of creativity.

As the band continued to mine the new album, performing “Hollow Man,” “Houston,” “Until the Day is Done” and “Accelerate,” the common reference points seemed to all come from the older releases, like “Reckoning” and 1987’s “Document.” These new tunes didn’t recall the offerings from 1994’s “Monster,” which was the album most people expected “Accelerate” to closely resemble. They lacked the “big” pop-rock sound found on “Monster” and, at least in concert, carried a more straight-forward indie-rock punch.

Whether that throwback sound will translate to big sales for R.E.M. has yet to be seen. Everybody in the industry will be watching very closely come April Fools’ Day, which “” no joke “” is when “Accelerate” hits stores.

The result, as told on the Billboard charts, will serve as the true handicap in R.E.M.’s race to get back to the top of the pop music game.